2008 Honda Accord problems, complaints & recalls
Updated from NHTSA data · How we count
Owners have filed 64 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Honda Accord, most often about engine. There are 8 recalls for this model year.
- Complaints
- 64
- Recalls
- 8
- Crashes
- 3
- Fires
- 5
- Injuries
- 4
- Median mileage
- 160,000 mi at time of problem
Key facts
- Engine is the most-reported problem area, named in 23 of 64 complaints (36%).
- Airbags (13) and electrical system (9) follow.
- Half of the complaints that list mileage happened before 160,000 mi.
- Owners reported 3 crashes, 5 fires and 4 injuries.
- The 2008 Honda Accord has 8 recalls on file.
- NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations covering this vehicle.
- It ranks 18th of 22 Honda Accord model years by our severity-weighted complaint score (1st = worst).
- That is 9% fewer complaints than the 2007 model year (70).
2008 Honda Accord problems by category
- 23 complaints
- Airbags · 3 crashes13 complaints
- Other / Unknown12 complaints
- Electrical System9 complaints
- Transmission & Drivetrain8 complaints
- Brakes5 complaints
- Acceleration & Cruise Control4 complaints
- Lighting3 complaints
- Wheels & Tires2 complaints
- Body & Structure2 complaints
- Seats & Seat Belts2 complaints
- Suspension2 complaints
- Visibility & Wipers1 complaints
- Fuel, Hybrid & EV Propulsion1 complaints
A complaint can mention more than one problem area, so categories add up to more than the total.
Most-reported components
| Component (as filed with NHTSA) | Complaints |
|---|---|
| Engine | 23 |
| Air bags | 13 |
| Unknown or other | 10 |
| Power train | 8 |
| Electrical system | 7 |
| Service brakes | 5 |
| Vehicle speed control | 4 |
| Exterior lighting | 3 |
When problems happen (mileage)
2008 Honda Accord recalls (8)
- AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2014 TSX Sport Wagon, 2010-2013 ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic and Civic Hybrid, 2008-2010 Civic GX NGV, 2012-2015 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2014 Fit EV, 2010-2014 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are F5F and Q5E.
- AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2013 TSX Sport Wagon, and 2010-2012 ZDX and 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, 2012-2014 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2013 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles. The front passenger air bag inflator may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.
Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag inflator may not properly deploy the passenger frontal air bag in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator installation and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 5, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are M4O, P4R, T4Q, and W4P.
- AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2012 Honda Accord and Pilot, 2010 Accord Crosstour, 2001-2011 Civic, 2002-2011 CR-V, 2003-2004, 2006-2008 and 2011 Element, 2007 and 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2012 Insight, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2012 Ridgeline vehicles. The front passenger air bag may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.
Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began June 22, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are K1P, and M1O.
- AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2008-2012 Accord, 2010-2012 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2012 Fit and Pilot, 2010-2012 Insight, and 2009-2012 Acura TSX vehicles that received replacement passenger frontal air bag inflators. One dealership may have incorrectly installed the replacement air bag inflators.
Risk: In the event of a crash, an incorrectly installed passenger frontal air bag inflator may deploy the air bag improperly, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began October 30, 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are O07, Y0A, N06, G05, M04, Y01, and O09.
- AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2012 Acura TSX, 2011-2012 Acura TSX Wagon, 2010-2012 Acura ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2012 Honda Accord Crosstour and Honda Insight, 2009-2012 Honda Fit, 2009-2012 Pilot, 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2012 Honda FCX Clarity and 2006-2011 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid, Civic NGV vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain 2009 Acura TSX, Honda Fit and Pilot, 2008-2009 Honda Accord, 2006-2009 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, and 2007-2009 Honda CR-V vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, if not included in "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling certain 2008 Honda Accord, 2006-2008 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV and 2007-2008 Honda CR-V vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The manufacturer has mailed an interim notification, and will send a second notification when parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KE1 and KE2.
- AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Acura TSX, 2011 TSX Wagon, 2010-2011 Acura ZDX, 2008-2011 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, Civic Hybrid, and Civic GX, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2010-2011 FCX Clarity and Insight, and 2009-2011 Fit, and Pilot vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless already included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain model year 2008 Honda Accord, 2006-2008 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic GX, and 2007-2008 CR-V vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Vehicles not originally sold or ever registered in either Zones A or B are not subject to this safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall is KA4, KA5, KA6, and KA7.
- AIR BAGS
American Honda Motor Company, Inc. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2008-2010 Accord vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the air bag control units may corrode and fail.
Risk: If the air bag control unit fails, the air bags may not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag control units, free of charge. Parts are expected to be available in Fall 2016. Interim notifications have been mailed to owners on March 15, 2016, and a second notice will be mailed when remedy parts are available. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JW9. Note: This recall supersedes Recall 15V665.
- POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
Honda is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 accord, 2007-2010 cr-v, and 2005-2008 element passenger cars manufactured from july 1, 2004, through september 3, 2010. The outer race of the secondary shaft bearing may be broken during certain driving styles. A broken outer race may cause abnormal noise, the malfunction indicator light to turn on, and allow contact between the transmission idle gear and an electronic sensor housing within the transmission.
Risk: This could result in a short circuit causing the engine to stall. Additionally, broken pieces of the outer race or ball bearing from the secondary shaft may become lodged in the parking pawl resulting in the vehicle rolling after the driver has placed the gear selector in the park position. Engine stall and unexpected vehicle movement increases the risk of a crash or personal injury to persons within the path of a rolling vehicle.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners and dealers will update the automatic transmission control module software free of charge. The safety recall began on august 27, 2011. Owners may contact honda automobile customer service at 1-800-999-1009.
NHTSA defect investigations
SRS Control Module Failure
As discussed further below, and by letter dated January 22, 2016, Honda is recalling certain model year (MY) 2008 through 2010 Honda Accords to replace a defective air bag/SRS control module that can result in the Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) becoming fully inoperative (disabled).See NHTSA Safety Recall 16V056 at SaferCar.gov for further details.Honda's response to an agency Information Request letter indicated that the SRS module was manufactured by tier-one supplier Continental and contained a power supply ASIC manufactured by tier-two supplier Atmel. The original ASIC was susceptible…
- EA14004Opened Jul 29, 2014Closed Jan 4, 2016
Inadvertent Side Air Bag Deployment
Honda is conducting a safety recall of approximately 303,900 model year 2008-2009 Honda Accord sedans to address inadvertent deployment of the side air bags (see NHTSA recall 15V-665 for more information).It should be noted that almost all of the recalled vehicles are the 2008 Accords (built from start of model year 2008 production to June 25, 2008) as only about 500 early-built 2009 Accords (built from June 24 to June 30, 2008) are included in the recall.The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has identified 351 reported incidents of inadvertent side air bag deployments in the 2008 Accord s…
- PE14004Opened Jan 31, 2014Closed Jul 29, 2014
Inadvertent Side Air Bag Deployment
ODI has identified 293 incidents of alleged inadvertent deployment of the side air bags in model year (MY) 2008 Honda Accord 4-door vehicles.This total represents all incidents reported to both ODI and Honda including those from Honda's warranty system (note: the total shown above eliminates all duplicative reports to ODI and Honda).This investigation has revealed that when the driver or front passenger door is shut, the driver-side or passenger-side side curtain air bag can deploy, and in some cases, the side seat-mounted torso air bag can deploy as well.Fourteen people allegedly suffered inj…
Recent 2008 Honda Accord complaints
Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
- Filed May 21, 2026CAOther / Unknown
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Accord. While attempting to register the vehicle, the contact was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 09E063000(EQUIPMENT). The contact indicated that the vehicle could not be register at local DMV office due to the incomplete recall; the contact indicated that the part listed in the recall was not installed onto the vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11739317 · source - Filed May 20, 2026INTransmission & Drivetrain
CV Axle broke without warning. Minimal safety risk, had to push the car across traffic to a parking lot. Had the vehicle towed to independent garage for repair.
NHTSA complaint #11739106 · source - Filed Apr 30, 2026CACrash1 injuredTowedAirbags
My daughter was in a accident on the freeway which was pretty bad the car is totaled and she was injured because the air bags never came out.
NHTSA complaint #11734820 · source - Filed Apr 7, 2026290,000 miGAElectrical System
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Honda Accord. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale on Facebook Marketplace. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 130,000. While cleaning the vehicle, the contact located a receipt that showed the mileage at 233,553. The seller blocked the contact’s phone calls. The Police Department was contacted, but no assistance was provided. It was later discovered that the Carfax…
NHTSA complaint #11729650 · source - Filed Mar 21, 2026DCOther / Unknown
Took my car to dmv and was told about 3 recalls JY4 / 16V-056 SAFETY E-063 R21 / 09E-063 SAFETY V-395 R89 / 11V-395 SAFETY 2008 HONDA ACCORD LX Recall Title SRS NO COMMUNICATION RECALL 08-2010 ACCORD NOSE MASK SECONDARY SHAFT
NHTSA complaint #11726048 · source - Filed Aug 28, 2025200,022 miNYFire1 injuredTowedElectrical System
The contact owned a 2008 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed on a highway, an abnormal burning odor leaked through the air vents into the interior cabin. The contact stated that his girlfriend was sitting in the front passenger seat during the failure. The contact managed to pull over to the shoulder of the road after a fire appeared from under the driver's side of the hood. The contact attempted to extinguish the fire with a fire…
NHTSA complaint #11683625 · source - Filed Aug 8, 2025CAOther / Unknown
On August 6, 2025, I scheduled an appointment at Ball Honda, located at 2135 National City Blvd, National City, CA 91950 (Tel: [phone removed]), for a recall service on my 2008 Honda Accord, Since I was unable to attend, I sent my son to take the car in, However, the Honda representative refused to perform the service, stating, "The recall was for vehicles purchased new, and they came with a nose mask," without checking the VIN or verifying whether my vehicle was actually…
NHTSA complaint #11679229 · source - Filed Apr 29, 2025203,684 miILElectrical System
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 109,363 and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 203,684.
NHTSA complaint #11657492 · source
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Other 2008 Honda models
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 10, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology